Hawk1981
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- Apr 1, 2020
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Believing that God speaks particularly through the poor and that the Bible can be understood only when seen from the perspective of the poor, Liberation Theologians perceived that the Roman Catholic Church in Latin America was fundamentally different from the church in Europe. Liberation Theology sought to apply religious faith by aiding the poor and oppressed through involvement in political and civic affairs. It stressed both heightened awareness of the “sinful” socioeconomic structures that caused social inequities and active participation in changing those structures.
Though the birth of the liberation theology movement is usually dated to the second Latin American Bishops’ Conference, which was held in Medellín, Colombia in 1968, the origins of the movement can be traced to the early 1960s when Pope John XXIII had called for an updating of the Catholic Church, and had published several socially oriented encyclicals which committed the Church to democracy, human rights, and religious freedom.
That commitment was formalized by the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) called by Pope John, which ended the self-imposed insulation of the Catholic Church from modernity, opened the church to other religious and philosophical currents, and formally endorsed democratic government and religious pluralism.
In Europe and Latin America large Christian Democratic parties had emerged which were committed to democracy, freedom, and the welfare state, and in Italy, Germany, and Belgium as well as in Venezuela and Chile they were major contenders for power.
The Second Vatican Council legitimized philosophical and religious pluralism, endorsing dialogue not only with other Christians, Jews, and Muslims but also with agnostics, atheists, and Marxists. Christian-Marxist dialogues had already been taking place in Europe, but in Latin America the Roman Catholic church strongly opposed Communism--especially in its Castroite form, which in the wake of the Cuban revolution had acquired a new appeal to intellectuals and youth.
The populist Latin American governments of the 1950s and 1960s -- especially those of Juan Perón in Argentina, Getúlio Vargas in Brazil, and Lázaro Cárdenas in Mexico -- inspired nationalistic consciousness and significant industrial development in the shape of import substitution. This benefited the middle classes and urban proletariat but threw huge sectors of the peasantry into deeper rural marginalization or sprawling urban shantytowns. Development proceeded along the lines of dependent capitalism, subsidiary to that of the rich nations and excluding the great majorities of national populations. This process led to the creation of strong popular movements seeking profound changes in the socio-economic structure of their countries. These movements in turn provoked the rise of military dictatorships, which sought to safeguard or promote the interests of capital, associated with a high level of "national security" achieved through political repression and police control of all public demonstrations.
In the same period the United States government established aid programs such as the Alliance for Progress which was intended to demonstrate that with US financial support democratic governments could promote reforms in land tenure, taxation, education, and social welfare that would prove that it was not necessary to resort to revolution to secure social progress.
United States and Latin American social scientists wrote about solving the problems of modernization in the third world by promoting development--especially economic development--which could respond to a perceived "revolution of rising expectations." As millions flocked to Latin America's already overcrowded major cities, economists argued that the promotion of industrialization through import-substitution and economic integration, as well as agricultural development through agrarian reform, would provide the basis for a democratic response to the underdevelopment of the region.
In this context the socialist revolution in Cuba stood out as an alternative leading to the dissolution of the chief cause of underdevelopment: dependence. Pockets of armed uprising appeared in many countries, aimed at overthrowing the ruling powers and installing socialist-inspired regimes. There was a great stirring for change among the popular sections of society. Students and intellectuals became disillusioned with the possibilities of reformism and argued that a more revolutionary approach along Cuban lines was necessary in the face of land reform failure and the rise of military dictatorships.
Though the birth of the liberation theology movement is usually dated to the second Latin American Bishops’ Conference, which was held in Medellín, Colombia in 1968, the origins of the movement can be traced to the early 1960s when Pope John XXIII had called for an updating of the Catholic Church, and had published several socially oriented encyclicals which committed the Church to democracy, human rights, and religious freedom.
That commitment was formalized by the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) called by Pope John, which ended the self-imposed insulation of the Catholic Church from modernity, opened the church to other religious and philosophical currents, and formally endorsed democratic government and religious pluralism.
In Europe and Latin America large Christian Democratic parties had emerged which were committed to democracy, freedom, and the welfare state, and in Italy, Germany, and Belgium as well as in Venezuela and Chile they were major contenders for power.
The Second Vatican Council legitimized philosophical and religious pluralism, endorsing dialogue not only with other Christians, Jews, and Muslims but also with agnostics, atheists, and Marxists. Christian-Marxist dialogues had already been taking place in Europe, but in Latin America the Roman Catholic church strongly opposed Communism--especially in its Castroite form, which in the wake of the Cuban revolution had acquired a new appeal to intellectuals and youth.
The populist Latin American governments of the 1950s and 1960s -- especially those of Juan Perón in Argentina, Getúlio Vargas in Brazil, and Lázaro Cárdenas in Mexico -- inspired nationalistic consciousness and significant industrial development in the shape of import substitution. This benefited the middle classes and urban proletariat but threw huge sectors of the peasantry into deeper rural marginalization or sprawling urban shantytowns. Development proceeded along the lines of dependent capitalism, subsidiary to that of the rich nations and excluding the great majorities of national populations. This process led to the creation of strong popular movements seeking profound changes in the socio-economic structure of their countries. These movements in turn provoked the rise of military dictatorships, which sought to safeguard or promote the interests of capital, associated with a high level of "national security" achieved through political repression and police control of all public demonstrations.
In the same period the United States government established aid programs such as the Alliance for Progress which was intended to demonstrate that with US financial support democratic governments could promote reforms in land tenure, taxation, education, and social welfare that would prove that it was not necessary to resort to revolution to secure social progress.
United States and Latin American social scientists wrote about solving the problems of modernization in the third world by promoting development--especially economic development--which could respond to a perceived "revolution of rising expectations." As millions flocked to Latin America's already overcrowded major cities, economists argued that the promotion of industrialization through import-substitution and economic integration, as well as agricultural development through agrarian reform, would provide the basis for a democratic response to the underdevelopment of the region.
In this context the socialist revolution in Cuba stood out as an alternative leading to the dissolution of the chief cause of underdevelopment: dependence. Pockets of armed uprising appeared in many countries, aimed at overthrowing the ruling powers and installing socialist-inspired regimes. There was a great stirring for change among the popular sections of society. Students and intellectuals became disillusioned with the possibilities of reformism and argued that a more revolutionary approach along Cuban lines was necessary in the face of land reform failure and the rise of military dictatorships.